Leonardo Bruni made the claimed that the study of Greek in Italy had been dead for 700 years until being singlehandedly resurrected from the grave by Manuel Chrysoloras.
Chrysoloras was a key figure in the revival of Greek studies in Italy and is known as an extremely influential teacher. He is also well known for translating the works of Homer and Plato into Latin.
He was born around 1350 and died in 1415.
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The current concise biographical timeline for Manuel Chrysoloras is as follows;
c.1350/c.1355 – he is born in Constantinople
1390 – he leads an embassy to implore the aid of Christian princes against Muslim Turks
1395 – Chrysoloras studies Greek in Constantinople
1396 – he is invited to Florence to teach Greek grammar and literature
1397-1400 – he is a Professor at Florence
1403 – he returns to Constantinople
1406-1411 – he visits Venice, Padua, Genoa, Paris, London, Salisbury, Barcelona, and Bologna
c.1408-1412 – Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus sends a copy of a lengthy funeral oration to Manuel Chrysoloras. A letter was sent which the copy and Chrysoloras answered with a length response
1411-1413 – he settles in Rome
1415 – he dies at or on the way to the Council of Constance
c.1471/1484 – his Erotemata (Questions) is the first Greek grammar to ever be printed
1972 – Patrinelis and Sofianos discover the lengthy response letter from Chrysoloras to the Emperor from the early 15th century. It is preserved in only one known manuscript.
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Some other works not mentioned above that he left us are;
1 – Syncrisis – which is a juxtaposition of old and new Rome
2 – a Latin translation of Plato’s Republic
3 – brief works on the Procession of the Holy Ghost
4 – letters to his brothers, to Bruni, Guarino, Traversari, and Strozzi
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References:
[1] – http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095611569
[2] – http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399301/obo-9780195399301-0410.xml
[3] – https://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/viewFile/15551/6803
[4] – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Chrysoloras
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